(HERALD ZW) NewsDay slapped with US$100m lawsuit
September 21, 2013
Farai Kuvirimirwa Court Reporter
ZANU-PF Central Committee member Cde William Mutomba and businesswoman Mrs Smelly Dube have filed a lawsuit against NewsDay, claiming US$100 million in damages after the paper allegedly published a defamatory article against them.According to papers filed under case number 7561/13, Alpha Media Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, their suspended editor Constantine Chimakure, reporter Blessed Mhlanga and lawyer Mr Valentine Mutatu, of Mahuni and Mutatu legal practitioners, are cited as first, second, third and fourth respondents, respectively.
Papers filed by Sachikonye-Ushe legal practitioners indicate that the matter arose after the newspaper published an article titled ‘Supreme Court brings finality to Midkwe Wrangle’ on September 4 which they said injured their feelings and impaired their dignity in society.
It is alleged that the article written by Mhlanga was full of malicious falsehoods where he confirmed that Australian born Lee Waverley Jones was the legitimate owner of Chaka Gold Plant situated in Kwekwe.
“Jones had accused Mutomba of grabbing the mine from him. All along Mutomba’s company had been conducting illegal mining activities at the mine,” read part of the article.
The lawyers argue that Mhlanga deliberately lied that the Supreme Court had ordered the plaintiffs to vacate Chaka Gold Plant and mine when it had dismissed an appeal filed by Midkwe Minerals (Pvt) Ltd.
The lawyers further argue that Cde Mutomba and Mrs Dube were not parties to the dismissed appeal.
“The third defendant (Mhlanga) deliberately and maliciously lied that Cde Mutomba and Mrs Dube had taken the law into their own hands by illegally and forcibly ‘grabbing’ the said mine from Australian born Jones.
“Mhlanga, acting in connivance with other defendants involved the first plaintiff (Cde Mutomba) when he is neither a director nor a shareholder of Midkwe Minerals,” read the papers.
The papers indicated that the article portrayed the pair as people who were abusing their respective Zanu-PF and influential business positions by illegally wrestling away from legitimate owners which they say is not true.
“The malicious falsehoods exposed the plaintiffs who are public figures, to ridicule and contempt from their business and political associates, relatives, workmates and acquaintances, who have since shunned them.
“Words in the context of the article were understood by readers of the newspaper that the plaintiffs were people who were illegally acquiring properties in the name of Zanu PF,” Cde Mutomba and Mrs Dube argued.
It is further indicated that the duo suffered damages in the sum of US$50 million apiece for which all the respondents are jointly and liable.
Labels: DEFAMATION, NEWSDAY, PROPAGANDA
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MMD members plead not guilty to defamation
By Christopher Miti in Chipata
Tue 23 July 2013, 14:00 CAT
TWO members of the MMD campaign team yesterday pleaded not guilty to one charge of defamation of the President.
This is a matter where Chipata district MMD chairperson Sinoya Mwale who is also former Chipata mayor and Kanjala ward councillor Jealous Phiri are charged with defamation of the President contrary to section 69 of the penal code chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
Particulars of the offence are that on July 18, 2013, Mwale, 42, and Phiri, 56, with intent to bring the President into hatred, ridicule or contempt did publish insulting matter by word of mouth.
The two are alleged to have issued a statement to the effect that
President Michael Sata was a Satanist who would use blood as fuel to ferry people from Kagunda health post to his rally in Chipata.
Resident magistrate Sanford Ngobola entered pleas of not guilty in respect of both accused persons.
Magistrate Ngobola said Mwale and Phiri would appear for mention on August 22 for mention and August 30, 2013 for trial.
The two were arrested and charged on Sunday but were later released on police bond.
Among notable people that escorted the two officials were provincial chairperson Alexander Miti, Sinda member of parliament Levy Ngoma and Muchinga's Howard
Labels: DEFAMATION, MMD
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(NEWZIMBABWE) Editor arrested over MDC-T, generals story
07/05/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
POLICE on Tuesday arrested the editor of the Zimbabwe Independent, Dumisani Muleya, and chief reporter, Own Gagare, and charged them with criminal defamation over a story claiming secret contacts between the country’s generals and the MDC-T party.
Gagare was the author of the story titled ‘MDC-T engages army chiefs’ and published in the weekly’s April 26 edition.
Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander General Constantine Chiwenga and Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri – who were both alleged to have met with emissaries of MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai “to discuss their current and future roles in the security services and packages if Tsvangirai wins” – have already denied any such contacts which they say would be inappropriate.
It was not clear who the complainant leading to Tuesday’s arrests, but Chihuri – speaking last week – urged journalists to “stop being used” by “confused malcontents”.
He bristled at “liars and peddlers of falsehoods”, warning: “The law will visit them harshly.”
General Chiwenga also forcefully denied ever meeting the MDC-T’s emissaries who were led, according to the Independent, by the party’s secretary for defence Giles Mutsekwa.
“It’s just not possible for me to entertain the MDC-T leader, we are different. Just like oil and water, we cannot mix,” General Chiwenga said.
The response of the generals to the Zimbabwe Independent’s report has heightened concerns in the MDC-T that security chiefs are too close to President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party and may not allow a change of leadership at the next elections.
Labels: DEFAMATION, DUMISA MULEYA, OWN GAGARE
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Caught in a web of lies
By The Post
Fri 15 June 2012, 13:25 CAT
OF all the properties which belong to honourable men, not one is so highly prized as that of honesty, of character. Reason and judgement are the qualities of a leader. A shortage of these qualities makes one a bad and troubled leader.
Hakainde Hichilema is in trouble today because of lacking honesty, reason and judgement. And yesterday, Hakainde was at the Police because of a statement he had made that has become difficult for him to prove.
Hakainde claimed that the PF government was training youths as militias in Sudan. Hakainde doesn't seem to be able to prove his claim. Hakainde must have gotten this information from somewhere because he hasn't been to Sudan to witness this for himself.
But whoever Hakainde got this from told him a lie, something he cannot prove. But why this desperation on Hakainde's part? Why can't he take his time to think through issues carefully and verify the truthfulness of things he is told, especially those that can be said to be sensitive matters?
Depending on unreliable people in situations like these is like trying to chew with a loose tooth or walk with a crippled foot. Sensible people always think before they speak or act, but stupid people are so eager to advertise or display their ignorance. It is said that "a careless talker destroys himself" (Proverbs 13:3).
Smart leaders believe only half of what they hear. And discerning leaders know which half to believe. But Hakainde seems to be in a rush to display every little negative thing that he hears about people he perceives to be enemies. He is too much in a hurry to hurt and humiliate others.
And as such, he doesn't even take time to digest what he has been told, what he has heard and see if it makes sense or not. Hakainde acts like someone suffering from diarrhoea of the mouth and constipation of the brain. This is not a recipe for leading well. Today, Hakainde is being exhibited as a liar. And it is true he has lied about the government training militias in Sudan.
It is a lie that an honest person should feel ashamed for and simply apologise without any reservations. But Hakainde is not that type of person to apologise and say he was misled by his informers. He is too arrogant, too proud to admit his mistakes. But we are advised: "Admit when you are wrong, and you will avoid embarrassment" (Sirach 20:3).
Hakainde should learn something from this and realise that lying is an ugly blot on a person's character. But ignorant people do it all the time. It is said that a thief is better than a habitual liar, but both are headed for ruin. A liar has no honour. He lives in constant disgrace. A slip of the tongue is worse than a slip on the pavement; the wicked will go to ruin just as suddenly as a person slips and falls.
If you try to be honest, you can be, and it will improve your character as handsome clothing improves your appearance. It is said that birds come to roost with those of their own kind, and the habit of being honest comes to those who try to be honest. Respected people don't tell lies, and fools have nothing worthwhile to say.
There is no need for Hakainde to continue posturing over this issue. The truth is he got things wrong, he was probably misled by those around him. But whose fault is that? Look at the type of people Hakainde surrounds himself with! Hakainde is surrounded by many good-for-nothings, people who all the time try to make him feel very important.
Of course, this sits very well with his unbridled ego. But look at what trouble and disgrace he is in today! Tomorrow he will be blaming others for the trouble that he has caused unto himself through his lies. There is no society that can tolerate such reckless and harmful utterances from a person who is in a position to know what is true and what isn't.
But the problem with Hakainde is that anything about his political opponents or enemies goes undigested. He can't reason when it comes to such matters. But we all know that quite often, a dishonest man, a wicked man is trapped by his own words. Stupid people always think they are right. Wise people listen to advice. When a fool is annoyed, he quickly lets it be known. Smart people will ignore an insult.
When you tell the truth, justice is done, but lies lead to injustice. And thoughtless words can wound as deeply as any sword, but wisely spoken words can heal.
It is said that a lie has a short life, but truth lives on forever. Hakainde's lie about Zambia training militias in Sudan had a very short life; its life has come to an end, leaving Hakainde in grief and shame.
Dishonest people, liars bring about their own downfall by their lies and other evil deeds, but good people are protected by their integrity. When wise people speak, they make knowledge attractive, but stupid people spout nonsense. Who can be so stupid to start training militias in Sudan? What for? Is Zambia at war? This is why we are questioning Hakainde's reason and judgement. Any reasonable person can easily see that there is something seriously wrong with Hakainde's claim. He is not making sense.
But of course, "a fool does not care whether he understands a thing or not; all he wants to do is show how smart he is" (Proverbs 18:2); "When a fool speaks, he is ruining himself; he gets caught in the trap of his own words" (Proverbs 18:7). And "You will have to live with the consequences of everything you say" (Proverbs 18:20).
Some people ruin themselves by their own careless utterances and stupid actions and then they blame others for it. Sometimes it takes painful experiences to make us change our ways. Sensible people will see trouble coming and avoid it, but an unthinking person will walk right into it and regret it later.
Anyway, telling lies has its consequences. For liars, causing trouble is all they ever think about; every time they open their mouths, it is with the intention of hurting someone.
And "the most stupid fool is better off than someone who thinks he is wise when he is not" (Proverbs 26:12); "You will have to hate someone to want to hurt him with lies. Insincere talk brings nothing but ruin" (Proverbs 26:28); and "The weight of stone and sand is nothing compared to the trouble that stupid people can cause" (Proverbs 27:3).
We understand Hakainde's frustrations and bitterness. It is all self-created, but he will always blame it on others. Hakainde must learn to discipline his disappointments. It is not what happens to us, it is what we choose to do about what happens that makes the difference in how our lives turn out. Your attitude is an expression of your values, beliefs and expectations. Whatever you believe with emotion becomes your reality. You always act in a manner consistent with your innermost beliefs and convictions.
We can only hope that this Sudan militia training lie has taught Hakainde something about integrity, truthfulness and respect. Integrity is the foundation upon which all other values are built. Telling lies shows that one seriously lacks integrity. Truthfulness is the main element of character. Deal honestly and objectively with others and with yourself.
Honesty is the hallmark of great character. And confidence on the outside begins by living with integrity on the inside. Integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. If he has to make a mark, Hakainde needs to improve greatly on this.
And there is no need for him to resort to gymnastics of all sorts, he should simply apologise to the nation for the false information he disseminated. But this requires humility, modesty and self-respect and respect for others.
Does Hakainde possess that? We highly doubt it! And this is why Hakainde is today caught in his own web of lies. Oh what a web we weave for ourselves when we first practice to deceive!
Labels: DEFAMATION, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA
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Police warn and caution Hichilema
By Joseph Mwenda
Fri 15 June 2012, 13:24 CAT
POLICE in Lusaka have recorded a warn and caution statement from UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema for defamation of the President after he likened President Michael Sata to a clueless hyena.
Police spokesperson Elizabeth Kanjela told journalists that a warn and caution statement was also recorded from Hichilema for publication of false news with intent to cause fear and alarm to the public.
Hichilema had claimed this week that the PF government intends to send youths to Sudan to be trained as militias.
"We have recorded a warn and caution statement from the UPND leader in connection with the following: defamation of the president contrary to section 69 of the Penal Code CAP 87 of the Laws of Zambia. The statement is contemptuous of the presidency by likening him to a chimbwi (hyena) with no plan in his governance of the Republic of Zambia," stated Kanjela.
But Hichilema said the move was a sign that the leadership of the country had collapsed.
Hichilema reported himself at the police headquarters around 14:20 hours in the company of other opposition leaders that included ADD president Charles Milupi, Gabriel Namulambe, Mwansa Mbulakulima of MMD and his lawyers.
He was then escorted to the boardroom where he sat on his personal camp chair which he brought along, as he was being interrogated.
About five plain-clothed police officers welcomed Hichilema and conducted a private interview with him.
After about two hours of questioning, Hichilema told journalists that he expected police officers handling his case to act professionally.
"The interview went well. If they act professionally and without interference from other politicians wanting to fix other politicians, then there is nothing to fear," he said.
Earlier, Hichilema said the leadership of the country had collapsed.
Labels: DEFAMATION, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, MICHAEL SATA
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Rupiah sues chief Chisunka
By Namatama Mundia
Mon 02 Apr. 2012, 13:00 CAT
RUPIAH Banda has sued chief Chisunka, claiming damages for defamation and libel over two articles that were published in The Post alleging that he had stolen a lot of money.
According to a statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court, Banda is also seeking an injunction to restrain the defendants either jointly or individually from further publishing or causing or authorising to be published the same or similar libellous statements.
Banda sued chief Chisunka Justin Chilufya Haakamwaya following an interview he gave to The Post, which the articles were published both electronically and by hard copy on November 10, 2011 and January 1, 2012 under the headline ‘Rupiah Banda has stolen a lot' and ‘Rupiah Banda was like a monkey in a maize field', respectively.
Banda, through his lawyers Messrs Central Chambers, stated that The Post on the material dates published, printed and distributed false and malicious stories following an interview which chief Chisunka gave them.
He added that the defamatory and false newspaper articles were widely circulated throughout Zambia and the world.
"The words printed and published of the defendant chief Chisunka were false and uttered with malice and reckless disregard for truth," Banda said.
"The natural and ordinary meaning of the words in the article is that the plaintiff is a criminal connected to illegal and corrupt deals. The plaintiff is preparing to cheat the Zambian people of their wealth.''
Banda further stated that the words also meant he was not fit to be a political leader and should not hold any political office.
He also stated that words meant that he had been part of an orchestrated scheme to commit fraud and was a tribalist.
Banda added that the defamatory words complained of carried the sting that he was a criminal involved in corruption and illegal dealings which are of very serious nature.
He further stated that the publication of the libellous and slanderous statements have caused immense damage to his reputation and considerate distress to him and his family.
Banda added that he had been subjected to abuse and ridicule in the public as a consequence of the defamatory words complained of.
He stated that chief Chisunka had his telephone number but chose not to get clarification before causing the publication of the articles.
Banda, however, said none of the allegations were true, adding that he had suffered loss and was entitled to damages.
Banda is also claiming aggravated, exemplary and punitive damages and wants interest on any award that may be given at the current ruling bank rate from the date of the writ until payment for costs.
Labels: CHIEF CHISUNKA, DEFAMATION, LIBEL, RUPIAH BANDA
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Shamu fumes over Mugabe 'denigration'
13/09/2011 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
INFORMATION Minister Webster Shamu has threatened to “take measures” to stop the media from “denigrating” President Robert Mugabe – an apparent response to the media coverage of leaked United States embassy cables revealing President Robert Mugabe’s failing health.
Shamu said the coalition government had done much for press freedom since 2009 by licensing more newspapers and lifting restrictions on foreign journalists, but claims this freedom is being abused.
"Of late, these media houses and pirate radio stations have intensified their vitriolic attacks and the use of hate language on the person of His Excellency, the President, and the party [Zanu PF], in a well-calculated move aimed at influencing the results of the forthcoming elections. In other words, the execution of the regime change agenda has been intensified,” Shamu told a Zanu PF district conference in Mutare.
“We are not against criticism but vilification. We cannot allow the denigration of the highest office in the land. They are forcing us to take measures and they must stand warned."
Shamu’s threats against what he said were “foreign-sponsored media houses” follows weeks of damaging revelations in local newspapers about widespread criticism of President Robert Mugabe made by senior Zanu PF officials contained in leaked US embassy diplomatic cables.
Top officials including Vice Presidents Joice Mujuru and John Nkomo, Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono and Youth Development Minister Saviour Kasukuwere are all named as expressing reservations about the party’s direction under Mugabe.
Gono told American diplomats that Mugabe had prostate cancer which would kill him by 2013, although Moyo suggested in separate meetings with the Americans that it may be a more benign throat cancer that was troubling him.
Media advocacy groups are frustrated that the unity government has so far failed to issue licences for radio and television. Concerns will now grow following Shamu’s threats.
Labels: DEFAMATION, NEOCOLONIALISM, ROBERT MUGABE, WEBSTER SHAMU
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Court reserves ruling in Sata’s defamation case involving Kunda’s wife, Irene
By Maluba Jere
Fri 11 Feb. 2011, 04:01 CAT
LUSAKA High Court judge Evans Hamaundu has reserved ruling to February 18, 2011 on whether or not Vice-President George Kunda's wife, Irene, should be struck out as a plaintiff in a case where Michael Sata has been sued for defamation.
Sata's lawyers last week asked the court to strike out Vice-President Kunda's wife, Irene, who is the second plaintiff in a case where the Patriotic Front leader has been sued for defamation.
According to a notice of intention to raise preliminary issue pursuant to 0.14 r 5 (2) of the High Court rules, chapter 27 of the Laws of Zambia, Sata's lawyers raised the preliminary issue on grounds that Irene was improperly joined to the proceedings.
“Take notice that at the hearing of the matter on 3rd February 2011 at 09:00 hours, the defendants herein will raise a preliminary issue on the ground that the second plaintiff is improperly joined to these proceedings and should therefore be struck out,” said the defence.
The matter which came up for hearing before judge Evans Hamaundu in chambers could therefore not proceed because the plaintiffs were only served with the notice a day before and needed time to respond.
In this matter, George Kunda and Company as a firm and Irene have sued Sata and QFM Radio claiming damages for libel contained in a radio interview aired when Sata featured on a programme on January 18, 2010.
Vice-President Kunda's firm is also claiming damages for libel against Sata and QFM in an article entitled 'Sata unearths a K3.5 billion scam...as he writes to RB to investigate his vice George Kunda'.
Vice-President Kunda's firm also wants an injunction restraining Sata and QFM whether by themselves and or their agents from further broadcasting and publishing the defamatory words complained of or any similar libel concerning the plaintiffs.
They are also claiming interest and costs. The plaintiffs were expected to respond to the preliminary issue raised by the state by yesterday.
When the matter came up for arguments in chambers yesterday, judge Hamaundu reserved ruling to a later date while the main matter has been adjourned to May this year.
Labels: COURTS, DEFAMATION, EVANS HAMAUNDU, GEORGE KUNDA
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WikiLeaks might choke The Standard
by Shakeman Mugari & Darlington Majonga
22/12/2010 00:00:00
AFTER enduring the embarrassment that came with revelations in the Sunday Times that she was having an extramarital affair with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono, Grace Mugabe must have been itching to make the media pay.
For reasons we will postulate later in this article, neither Grace nor Gono decided to sue for that infidelity story despite that it had glaring weaknesses on which they could have capitalised.
The story had made allegations that both Gono and Grace could have successfully claimed to have injured their reputation and integrity. Then The Standard newspaper, a fortnight ago, unwittingly granted Grace her wish to punish the media.
The paper regurgitated classified diplomatic cables – which are in essence US government e-mails – leaked to the whistleblower website Wikileaks alleging that Grace and other senior people in the Zimbabwe government had made super profits from smuggling diamonds.
Litigious Grace
She is a thief of diamonds, the paper said in a story that relied solely on the diplomatic cable filed by the former United States ambassador to Zimbabwe, James McGee.
McGee himself had relied on information allegedly gathered from Andrew Cranswick, the chief executive of African Consolidated Resources, a company that has been fighting for diamond mining rights in Zimbabwe for years.
Predictably, Grace pounced on the opportunity and filed a US$15 million lawsuit against the paper.
Since then, public opinion has portrayed The Standard as a victim of a litigious first lady desperate to keep her alleged illegal dealings under wraps.
Some have labelled the lawsuit an effort to muzzle the press. The debate continues.
Yet in all this brouhaha what has been missed is that The Standard might have “blindly” walked into a trap that Wikileaks unintentionally set for journalists when it released those US government cables.
The paper walked into a minefield and many newspapers might soon find themselves in the same precarious situation if they blindly lift those Wikileaks for publication.
It has always been dangerous for journalists to walk around with their pens “cocked” and eyes closed.
Whether one likes her or not, the sad reality in this case is that Grace could have a very strong argument and The Standard could be sued into poverty.
As journalists and Zimbabweans who have worked under the hostile media conditions in Zimbabwe, we are not celebrating that eventuality.
It must be mentioned from the onset that the real reason Grace could have a strong case is not because she is clean but rather that The Standard could have bungled the story. The result might turn out to be calamitous.
The Standard forgot that those leaked cables are not a statement of fact but an opinion of their writer, McGee.
Strong case
They were written to help the US government formulate its policy strategy in foreign affairs dealings with Zimbabwe.
They were an update to the US government on the Zimbabwean situation according to McGee. They were an assessment of a situation and not the situation itself. McGee did not put those damaging allegations to an ample test that is required for journalists before they publish stories. In any case, McGee had no obligation to do that because he was not writing them for publication.
He relied on one source who has since denied having mentioned Grace or any other name when he gave the information.
The Standard made the mistake of rushing to publish that information without verification.
They forgot that the cables were mere allegations that they, as a newspaper, had to seek to verify before going to print.
The paper mistook what was otherwise a plausible “tip-off” for a complete story ready for publication.
When the case goes to court the obligation will be on the newspaper to prove that those allegations are true and that they took pains to verify them.
In other words, The Standard now has to start doing what it should have done before publishing the story – which is verifying the cabled information.
To do that they will have to do the story in reverse – they wrote the story now they have to find evidence to corroborate it.
Mission impossible
But that might be a mission impossible. Rumours have always been abound that people close to President Robert Mugabe were involved in clandestine diamond dealings but what has stopped many Zimbabwean journalists from writing the story is the lack of evidence.
Now, The Standard has to find that elusive evidence to prove that rumour.
And because this is a court case the evidence will have to be more concrete than what a newspaper normally needs to write a story. The real drama however will be in the courts.
Because of the circumstances surrounding the cables and Wikileaks, The Standard will obviously have to scrounge around for witnesses. Only God knows where they will get anyone to corroborate those allegations.
They clearly can’t call McGee to testify that the allegations in the cables are true because the US government has already said the cables are stolen information and they want nothing to do with Wikileaks.
It’s therefore highly unlikely that a whole US diplomat will agree to give evidence on a confidential document he wrote for the State Department’s use only.
That takes one pillar off The Standard’s defence case which is already shaky even if we assume that, by some divine intervention, McGee will agree to testify.
It does not help The Standard’s case that Cranswick, the man McGee purports to be the source of the diamond smuggling allegations against Grace and others, has denied any connection. He has said the cables are a lie.
Cranswick is therefore not likely to testify and vouch for the truthfulness of allegations that he has already publicly labelled falsehoods.
The fact that he has also said he never met a US official to discuss the issue only makes The Standard’s case even more wobbly.
So when the case opens The Standard will walk into court to fight probably the biggest libel case in the world without both the source of the information and the author of the document they used to write the story.
Predicament
In fact, Cranswick’s denials actually strengthen Grace’s case and she might call him to testify against the paper. Yet The Standard’s predicament gets bleaker when you analyse the way the story itself was written.
The paper will have to prove that it took pains to verify the allegations in the cable. They have to show that they investigated the validity and accuracy of the information they rushed to publish.
But their story does not show that the reporter did any work other than regurgitate what was contained in the cable. There is zilch evidence that they really tried to prove the allegations.
It gets worse.
The story does not even show that the paper tried to give Grace the right of reply as is required in journalism. It doesn’t even attempt to hide behind the routine excuse “efforts to get a comment were not successful at the time of going to press”.
Grace, by the way, has a fulltime spokesperson. Come the hearing day, The Standard might have neither witnesses nor sources to corroborate their story.
Neither will they have proof that they tried to verify the allegations or at least give Grace a chance to respond (this evidence should be in the story and not in the editor’s head).
If The Standard’s defence case has any leg to stand on then that leg is a crippled one that might not be able to support them for long in their battle against “the mother of all lawsuits”.
There are those arguing that the newspaper merely wrote what Wikileaks had already published and therefore it is not liable. Such kindergarten arguments will not carry the day in a court of law.
They are for bar-talk where they can impress people who would have imbibed “one too many”. Sober minds, especially in a court of law, will trash them.
The fact that the cables had already been leaked does not exempt a newspaper of the duty to verify the allegations contained therein.
Obligation
Remember a newspaper or any other medium can be sued for a story lifted from another publication. The Standard still had an obligation to probe those allegations before publishing.
Even if Cranswick admits that he made those allegations The Standard will still have to prove that they are true.
Yet those are not the only reasons why The Standard is in a tight spot in this case.
The merits of Grace’s case aside, there is also the fact that the High Court bench is generally pliable and too friendly to the government.
Most of the judges on that bench are actually too grateful for the funds and farms they got during the so-called land reform.
Imagine then, The Standard walking into a Zimbabwean court to face one of those meek judges with such a weak case. God forbid!
It is true that Grace’s reputation is not worth the US$15 million tag she has placed on it and that she is unlikely to get that much.
The amount demanded sounds more like an effort towards self-enrichment than redress.
So why did Grace pounce on a case that alleged her to be a thief of diamonds and not the one alleging she is adulterous?
At face value it doesn’t make sense that Grace could be angrier at being called a thief than being labelled an adulterous wife of the president.
It would seem senseless that she could pass an opportunity to get US$15 million from a rich UK paper and then try her luck with The Standard, a Zimbabwe paper so poor it can’t even pay a living wage to its reporters.
Collateral damage
The answer lies in the fact that the adultery case, which would have been heard in the UK, would have left her reputation in tatters. It had too much collateral damage.
How would she have answered the following questions from those media lawyers in the UK: Mrs Mugabe, have you ever committed adultery in your life?
When you first slept with your current husband (President Mugabe), were you still married to your first husband? And was your current husband still married to his wife?
Did you divorce your first husband first before you started an affair with your current husband?
You only need to Google the date of birth of one prominent teenager in Zimbabwe and the date of a certain high-profile wedding in the 1990s to see how tricky those questions would have been for Grace.
The UK papers would have made capital out of that case. Which paper would not have wanted to write about the wife of a despised African leader coming to London to defend allegations that she had an affair with one of her husband’s most trusted friends and banker?
Add that to the fact that UK judges cannot be influenced and are generally progressively in favour of the media and you see why she decided not to pursue the case even though she might have really wanted.
In the Wikileaks case Grace would not need to worry about those questions or the judge who will take the case.
Compliant judges
Even if the selection of the judge is random chances are very high that it will inevitably end up in the hands of one of those compliant judges.
Grace will just have to sit in court and watch the editor sink one nail after the other into the paper.
It is sad that when all is done, the story of whether Grace is really a diamond smuggler or not will still not have been written.
She might walk out of court with victory and a little pocket money not because she would have proven that she is not a diamond smuggler but because The Standard editors and reporters decided to walk around with their pens “cocked” and their eyes and minds closed.
Julian Assange’s gift to the media in the form of leaked US government cables might not be risk-free after all.
The cables might choke The Standard even though they were supposed to be a boon for the media. We wish The Standard all the best and hopefully we all as journalists learn from this sad episode.
*Mugari and Majonga are Zimbabwean journalists working in southern Africa.
Labels: ANDREW CRANSWICK, DEFAMATION, JAMES MCGEE, WIKILEAKS
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Kunda is no match for me - Kavindele
By Patson Chilemba
Sun 26 Dec. 2010, 04:02 CAT
ENOCH Kavindele says he will give George Kunda and others a good run for the MMD vice-presidency. In an interview, Kavindele said the Republican Vice-President’s incumbency will not guarantee George Kunda the party’s second highest position.
“I will certainly give them a good run for their money, and I am well known to all MMD members vis-a-vis my organising ability. In the last elections of 2001, late General Christon Tembo had gone to form the FDD, General Godfrey Miyanda HP (Heritage Party), Sata had gone to form PF,” Kavindele said.
“Mr Frederick Chiluba was retiring. So it was left to me now to get the party to win, and I did deliver.
So our members have not forgotten.”
Kavindele said Vice-President Kunda and the three other Cabinet ministers challenging him for the vice-presidency at the forthcoming MMD national convention were no match to him.
“I wish to remind them that each of us has a record of performance. My ability to organise the MMD party cannot be matched by anyone of those…the fact that he Kunda is able to go to places or wherever our people are congregated means very little in this game,” Kavindele said.
“When I was elected vice-president of the party at the convention, the other person who stood against me had gone round the countryside funding those who were to come to the convention. And when it came to the convention, the people who had been funded did not vote for him.”
And prominent Ndola based MMD member Alex Mubanga popularly known as shimpundu pa nkoloko said he supports Vice-President Kunda for the MMD vice-presidency because he has worked extremely hard.
And reacting to Vice-President Kunda’s assertions that UPND president Hakainde Hichilema was corrupt for failing to account for US$12 million privatisation money, Kavindele asked Kunda to stop issuing misleading statements.
“Although HH’s company was the receiver of the funds from Binani to pay certain commitments, they only paid professional fees of about US$200,000 and not the figure being quoted by Mr Kunda,” Kavindele said.
“At the time some similar malicious statement had been made against HH and late Levy Mwanawasa ordered an inquiry which Kunda was privy to as Attorney General and nothing of a that sort came out. It is therefore a little bit malicious to make the statement he has made against HH.”
Kavindele said it was important for those in government to issue factual statements because the same could be done against them when they were out of power.
Labels: ALEX MUBANGA, DEFAMATION, ENOCH KAVINDELE, GEORGE KUNDA, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA
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Grace Mugabe sues paper over WikiLeaks story
HARARE, ZIMBABWE Dec 16 2010 11:02
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's wife is suing a newspaper for $15-million for publishing a WikiLeaks cable saying she benefited from illicit diamond trade, media reported on Thursday.
Last week, the Standard newspaper quoting a cable sent by United States ambassador James McGee to Washington in 2008, reported that Grace Mugabe gained millions of dollars from illegal diamonds mining, in the Marange district of eastern Zimbabwe.
The state-owned Herald reported that the First Lady had on Wednesday filed the defamation suit against the Standard.
"The plaintiff is of high standing in Zimbabwe ... furthermore she is the wife of His Excellency the President of Zimbabwe," Mugabe's lawyer, George Chikumbirike said.
'Mother of the nation'
"The imputation of such conduct on a person of such high standing, the mother of the nation, is to lower the respect with which is held by all right thinking persons, to a point of disappearance," said the summons.
Chikumbirike said the article wrongly portrayed Grace as corrupt in that "she used her position as the First Lady to access diamonds clandestinely, enriching herself in circumstances in which the country was facing serious foreign currency shortages".
In the cable, McGee says "high-ranking Zimbabwean government officials and well-connected elites are generating millions of dollars in personal income by hiring teams of diggers to hand-extract diamonds".
The cable then discussed a meeting with Andrew Cranswick, chief executive of the British mining firm African Consolidates Resources, that had a claim to the Chiadzwa mine revoked by the Harare government, according to McGee.
"According to Cranswick, there is a small group of high-ranking Zimbabwean officials who have been extracting tremendous diamond profits from Chiadzwa," it said, naming Mugabe's wife Grace and Central Bank governor Gideon Gono.
Other Zimbabwean government officials implicated in the scandal include Vice-President Joyce Mujuru and the head of the army, General Constantine Chiwenga, according to the cable. - AFP
Labels: ANDREW CRANSWICK, DEFAMATION, GRACE MUGABE, MARANGE DIAMOND FIELDS, WIKILEAKS
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Bennett: a victim of own recklessness
By: Editor's Comment
Posted: Saturday, October 23, 2010 4:55 am
MDC-T treasurer general Roy Bennett should respect the rule of law and not flee from it if he is to be respected as a serious politician and leader.
There are many people who are charged with offences, get convicted or are acquitted. This is not new. Farai Maguwu, executive director of the Centre for Research and Development Trust, has just been set free after months of trial. He is no different from Bennett at law.
Perjury, also referred to as false statement or false testimony, is a serious offence in Zimbabwe. It is commited when a person intentionally lies under oath, when testifying in court, during administrative hearings, giving a deposition or in answers to interrogatories.
The State will potentially charge Bennett under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act for making a false statement under oath, during his terrorism trial.
It attracts a maximum of 20 years in prison with hard labour.
The State alleges that when Bennett was asked to give a correspondence address during his terrorism trial, he gave the address of an industrial working area.
The address, Number 4 Burnley Road in Workington, leads to an industrial area in Harare.
The Deputy Sheriff — in his retainer of service — could not locate the Harare address. It led to the industrial area.
The court found out about the false address when it failed to serve Bennett papers in a civil lawsuit brought by High Court Judge Chinembiri Bhunu over a defamatory statement Bennett made to a British newspaper.
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In the United Kingdom, millionaire novelist and former deputy chair of the Conservative Party, Lord Archer was jailed for four years after being found guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice.
Lord Archer, was ordered to pay £175,000 costs within 12 months, and told by the judge he would have to serve at least half of his sentence.
In the United States, for example, the general perjury statute under Federal law defines perjury as a felony and provides for a prison sentence of up to five years.
In an interview with the Guardian (UK) newspaper's Chris Smith on Sunday, May 9 2010, Bennett said the terrorism case against him was politically motivated.
"It's very unsettling," Bennett told journalist Smith from his home in Harare. "To sit there and to listen to absolute fabricated lies where basically you've got the death sentence hanging over your head is not pleasant at all."
He continued: "To know that the people that are doing it will stop at absolutely nothing to achieve their ends and that there is a selective application of the rule of law, that the judiciary is totally compromised, that the very judge that's trying me is the owner of a farm that he's been given through political patronage, that all the appointees have been done through the ministry of justice on a political basis … basically I should expect no mercy and fear the worst."
Bennett made the remarks only a few hours before his case was discharged by the same judge whom he accussed of being compromised.
Bennett could have perjured himself by potentially not telling the truth when he gave his warned and cautioned statement in his terrorism docket.
The defamation lawsuit filed by Judge Bhunu, however, is a civil one. A civil wrong seeks to compensate Judge Bhunu by awarding damages.
If the court finds in favour of Judge Bhunu, Bennett will be expected to pay damages deemed as fair by the court.
Bennett should remember that when he says he is fighting for the rule of law in Zimbabwe, he should submit himself to that rule of law. By running away from Zimbabwe, he is setting a very dangerous precedent and cannot be a champion for the rule of law.
The State has a right to appeal against Bennett's discharge relating to the criminal case.
Bennett should tell the courts, not the newspapers, why the address he gave as his residential address leads to an industrial unit in Harare, as alleged by the State.
The civil suit, however, is justified because Bennett made those remarks and they are on the Guardian newspaper's website.
Bennett can go to the West to canvass support for the MDC-T, but that does not absolve him of the lawsuits that are before the courts.
Recently, he told another online news agency that "the police were instructed to arrest him and he thinks that this was designed by Zanu PF to scuttle his appointment as deputy Agriculture minister". He is adding to the litany of reckless statements that could bring more lawsuits against him.
His lawyers should advise him to be cautious in his interviews.
________________________________
Comments and suggestions to info@talkzimbabwe.co
Labels: COURTS, DEFAMATION, LIBEL, MDC, ROY BENNETT
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I'm not returning to Zimbabwe, says Bennett
By: Floyd Nkomo
Posted: Friday, October 22, 2010 4:12 am
MDC-T treasurer-general and financier Roy Bennett said Thursday that he has decided to return to South Africa fearing what he called judicial persecution by President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.
In an exclusive interview with Voice of America radio, Bennettt said he would not serve any purpose as the treasurer-general of the MDC-T by sitting in a jail in Zimbabwe "with my passport taken away me". He added that he was wary of further judicial actions against him.
"Sadly, it looks at this stage that I will not be going back to Zimbabwe. I'll re-establish myself in South Africa," said Bennett.
Bennett added: "I will travel the world. I will highlight these issues. I will put them on the table and bring as much pressure as one can ... on Zanu-PF."
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Bennett had gonbe into hiding for three weeks and the State was failing to issue him with a summons over a defamation suit.
He faces a US$1 million civil suit filed by High Court Judge Chinembiri Bhunu, who discharged Bennett over his criminal case, for alleged defamation in an interview Bennett gave to Britain's Guardian newspaper.
Bennett was quoted as saying he did not expect to be acquitted because of Bhunu allegedly had benefited from the land reform programme.
Judge Bhunu said Bennett's remarks implied he was “not a fit and proper person ... to preside over the defendant’s trial.”
Lawyer George Chikumbirike, representing Bhunu, said the defamation suit is not politically motivated, but is simply a matter of his client taking action to defend his professional reputation.
The State had indicated that it would serve the summons through the media as Bennett had lied to the court about his residence in Harare, and had disappeared.
Bennett first sought political asylum in South Africa in 2006 after he was charged of plotting to assassinate President Mugabe.
Bennett was convicted in 2004 for punching Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa in the House of Assembly over a land reform debate in the august House. The Justice Minister had told Bennett that his forefathers had stolen land from blacks during colonial times.
He spent time at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison in 2004-2005.
Bennett was arrested again in February 2009 upon returning to Zimbabwe after 2008 elections as there was a warrant of arrest for him.
He was named deputy minister of agriculture, but President Mugabe has refused to swear him in, saying his case was still before the courts.
Labels: CHINEMBIRI BHUNU, DEFAMATION, MDC, ROY BENNETT
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Simusamba convicts M’membe and The Post
By Mwala Kalaluka
Wed 02 June 2010, 18:30 CAT
LAWYERS representing Post editor Fred M’membe in a matter where he and The Post were yesterday found guilty of publishing contemptuous material have said they will appeal against the convictions.
And Lusaka senior resident magistrate David Simusamba reserved sentence in the matter to tomorrow in order for him to look at the defence’s mitigation.
This is in a matter in which M’membe and The Post were facing contempt charges arising from the publication on August 27, 2009 of an article entitled, ‘The Chansa Kabwela case: A comedy of errors’ that was authored by US-based Zambian law professor Muna Ndulo.
The defence lawyers, Remmy Mainza and George Chisanga, said yesterday that whilst they respected magistrate Simusamba’s judgment, they did not agree with it and hence their decision to appeal against it immediately.
In his over one-hour judgment, magistrate Simusamba said he found M’membe and The Post guilty of contempt because the article complained of had delved into some issues that were supposed to have been determined by the court before which the people versus Chansa Kabwela case was proceeding.
Magistrate Simusamba said the defence had conceded that the article in question had been published in The Post.
Magistrate Simusamba said the prosecution case was premised on the belief that the article under contention was touching on the Chansa Kabwela case and that it seemed to suggest that the case ought not to have been taken to court, as it was a comedy of errors involving President Rupiah Banda, the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Magistrate Simusamba said the prosecution further premised their case on the belief that the article could also lower the authority and integrity of the court.
He also said the defence’s argument was that the prosecution had failed to prove that the article in question questioned the Chansa Kabwela case proceedings.
Magistrate Simusamba said the defence further argued that the article under consideration was not capable of swaying or influencing the court’s decision and that even at the time when the article was published, Lusaka chief resident magistrate Charles Kafunda had already delivered ruling in the Chansa Kabwela matter.
However, magistrate Simusamba said the prosecution submitted that the arguments by the defence were misplaced reasoning.
“I can’t agree less with the prosecution. That is the law as it stands,” magistrate Simusamba said.
He said the defence went on to argue that magistrate Kafunda was a professional lawyer who directs his own cases.
Magistrate Simusamba then delved into the article in question, where he noted that it described the Chansa Kabwela issue as an error of judgment on the part of President Banda.
He said the article had charged on how the people of Zambia had been failed by the President, police and the DPP in the issues around the Chansa Kabwela case.
Magistrate Simusamba said the article likened the Chansa Kabwela issue to Shakespeare’s ‘comedy of errors’ and how the author termed the whole process as frivolous.
“The article then ventures into a lengthy discussion of what constitutes obscenity,” magistrate Simusamba said. “It goes on to refer to English and American authorities.”
Magistrate Simusamba said the article stated of the President Banda’s directives to the police to arrest Chansa Kabwela.
He said it was a notorious fact that decisions or actions of the President often, if not always, attracted public interest. Magistrate Simusamba said fair criticism of such presidential decisions could not be said to be contemptuous, as the President does not interfere in any way in the fair administration of justice.
“Criticism of the police or the DPP in the manner as in the present case equally can’t amount to contempt of court,” magistrate Simusamba said. “However, the article discusses what constitutes obscenity.”
Magistrate Simusamba said at this point, the article indulged in discussing merit and demerits issue that the court was supposed to determine in the obscenity issues of the Chansa Kabwela case.
“This was a clear case of contempt of court,” he said.
Magistrate Simusamba said whilst he acknowledged the freedom of the press, he was mindful that the issue of public interest in such matters related to the fair administration of justice.
Magistrate Simusamba said M’membe had argued in his defence that the article was not contemptuous and that he spoke highly and bitterly of how President Banda sent police officers to catch him.
Magistrate Simusamba said it was also a notorious fact that the Chansa Kabwela case attracted a lot of public interest but that he did not know whether that public interest arose from M’membe’s observations or from what had been contained in the article in question.
Magistrate Simusamba said although M’membe contended that the article was not contemptuous, he had already said the contempt in the article lay in its discussion of the obscenity merits and demerits of the Chansa Kabwela case.
“Once a publication has been stigmatised as contemptuous, it can’t be legitimatised,” magistrate Simusamba said. “There can be no such thing as a justification of contempt. This defence must therefore fail.”
On M’membe’s alibi that he had been attending an Economic Policy Management (EPM) programme at the University of Zambia (UNZA) at the time the article in question was published, magistrate Simusamba said there was no evidence before court to prove that M’membe had obtained leave from his official duties at his workplace.
“It is not enough for the accused to say that he was not at the scene…there must be evidence of that alibi and that is when the police is duty bound to investigate,” he said.
Magistrate Simusamba said the editor-in-chief was responsible for whatever was published in the newspaper and that with modern technological advancements, an editor-in-chief could issue directives on what should be published without being physically present at the office.
He said as such, M’membe’s explanation that he was not at the office when the article in question was being published could not therefore be an alibi.
“The claim that accused one (M’membe) used to spend all his time at UNZA or at his residence surely is out of the ordinary,” magistrate Simusamba said. “I find that A1 (M’membe) is guilty as charged and convict him accordingly. I also find A2 (The Post) guilty as charged and convict him accordingly for the publication of contemptuous matters. The accused has a right to appeal to the High Court.”
Lusaka Division Prosecution Officer, Frank Mumbuna, said the M’membe and Post human resources manager Reuben Phiri - who was in the dock as The Post - were first offenders.
In mitigation, Remmy Mainza said the offence on which his clients had been found guilty was a misdemeanor, which attracted a maximum prison sentence of six months or a fine not exceeding 750 penultimate.
“The position at law is that where the offence attracts a fine as an option to a custodial sentence, the court should consider fining the convict as opposed to meting out a custodial sentence,” Mainza said. “This is an appropriate case by which, your honour, should consider fining the two accused persons in line with the provisions of the law. In the alternative, it is our humble prayer that the two accused persons are entitled to maximum leniency by this honourable court.”
Mainza urged the court to consider suspending the sentence in the interest of justice, especially that there were no aggravating circumstances in the case.
Defence lawyer, Chisanga, beseeched the court to consider the issue that the contempt in the matter was not of the nature that the two accused persons intended to undermine the authority or prejudice the proceedings before which the Chansa Kabwela case was being heard.
“This contempt arose from a publication of legal authorities,” Chisanga said. “The court will be moved to mete out custodial sentence where the contempt complained of is of a grave nature and the defence will therefore urge the court to consider that.”
And when it came to passing sentence, magistrate Simusamba said he would adjourn to tomorrow to consider the issues raised in mitigation. He said he needed at least a day to consider the mitigation.
The matter comes up tomorrow at 09.00 hours.
Labels: COURTS, DAVID SIMUSAMBA, DEFAMATION, FRED M'MEMBE, THE POST
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Referring to Rupiah as umuwelewele isn’t defamatory - Fr Bwalya
By Mwila Chansa in Luanshya
Wed 26 May 2010, 04:00 CAT
CHANGE Life Zambia (CLZ) executive director Fr Frank Bwalya on Monday admitted having described President Rupiah Banda as umuwelewele but maintained that the term is not defamatory.
During the recording of a warn and caution statement at Luanshya Central Police Station, second district criminal investigations officer Katongo Mulenga informed Fr Bwalya that he had been summoned to appear in connection with an article published on page two of The Post newspaper dated May 10, 2010 headlined ‘Rupiah should be given a red card, says Fr Bwalya.’
Mulenga then read through the entire story and drew Fr Bwalya to certain paragraphs.
“The first one is where it is alleged that you said Rupiah Banda ‘muwelewele’ and that is why he is allowing people like William Banda to do useless things,” Mulenga noted.
“The second one is where it is alleged that you said ‘nomba tukabika ama kites ya red mumulu pakuti alepita kumbi We will put red kites in the air so that he passes elsewhere’ and the third is where it is alleged that you said butter ‘nomba yashalilafye ba Rupiah nenkanda pa menso yafula elyo balemona ati basuma Mr Rupiah is the only one who eats butter these days and that is why his facial skin has thickened and he thinks he is handsome’ and the fourth is where it is alleged that you said Rupiah Banda should be given a red card. What is your reaction to this?”
Fr Bwalya, accompanied by brother Japhet Banda, then asked Mulenga what he meant.
“Reaction in terms of what?” Fr Bwalya asked.
In response, Mulenga said some MMD members complained to the police that Fr Bwalya had defamed President Banda based on the story.
Mulenga explained that the matter was reported in Ndola but it was later taken to Luanshya where the alleged offence was committed.
Fr Bwalya pledged total cooperation with the police, saying he recognised their role in enforcing law and order.
He said at the same time they also had a duty to ensure that it was done in a professional and non-discriminatory manner.
However, Fr Bwalya said he would do everything under protest because he had reported people such as Lusaka Province MMD chairperson William Banda for threatening him with violence and he believed that threats on one’s life were more serious than the defamation he is alleged to have committed.
Fr Bwalya observed that police had not summoned William Banda despite having reported him over three weeks ago.
But Mulenga advised Fr Bwalya to restrict himself to the matter at hand.
“Your complaint is genuine but I’m too small. It is a grievance that I may feel incapacitated to do anything about it,” Mulenga said.
But Fr Bwalya added that on the same day he reported William Banda, he also complained about Ndola District MMD publicity secretary Alex Mubanga’s threats on him of worse violence than what occurred in Mufumbwe.
Fr Bwalya said he was surprised that police had not called Mubanga over his threats.
However, he said he would stand by his words published in The Post because he did not think the words were defamatory.
“I did not say ‘iciwelewele’,” Fr Bwalya said but Mulenga interjected and asked the difference between ‘iciwelewele’ and ‘umuwelewele’.
Fr Bwalya explained that the prefixes ‘ici’ and ‘umu’ were different in terms of connotation of the individual being referred to.
He said people chose certain words because they wanted to convey certain messages.
Mulenga then asked Fr Bwalya if he could record a statement from him based on what he had said and he affirmed.
“Fr Bwalya, this statement is being taken today, 24th May 2010 at 12:20 hours at Luanshya district CID Criminal Investigations Department headquarters. Police are making an inquiry into defamation of the President contrary to section 69 of the Penal Code Cap 87 of the Laws of Zambia,” he said.
Mulenga told Fr Bwalya that he uttered defamatory words against President Banda on May 8, 2010 by word of mouth and he caused the said words to be published in The Post newspaper of May 10, 2010.
In his statement, Fr Bwalya said he went to Luanshya on May 8, 2010, to launch the programmes and activities of Change Life Zambia.
He explained that in launching the organisation, he addressed the people and said a lot of things that included issues of corruption, bad governance and the sufferings of the Zambian people.
He said he also talked about the lack of affirmative action by President Banda to stop the threats on ordinary citizens and actual violence.
“I also made reference to President Banda’s aimlessness and unreliability to stop people like Mr William Banda from threatening citizens with physical violence and in this context, I used a Bemba term ‘umuwelewele’ which means aimlessness and unreliability from my understanding,” he said.
Fr Bwalya said he had no intention whatsoever to maliciously scandalise or defame President Banda.
He said as a Christian, he was obliged to tell the truth as it presented itself.
“When corruption, selfishness, ineptitude, lack of common sense and social injustices abound, the truth assumes a voice and speaks louder than the promptings of conscience,” said Fr Bwalya.
And Kafulafuta MMD member of parliament George Mpombo yesterday described police’s recording of a warn and caution statement from Fr Bwalya as baffling.
Mpombo wondered why the police were so much in a hurry to summon Fr Bwalya over his alleged defamatory remarks against President Banda when they had not moved with the same speed to caution people like William Banda for threatening violence and Lusaka Province MMD youth chairman Chris Chalwe’s group for threatening to gang-rape FDD president Edith Nawakwi.
Mpombo advised the government against entertaining double standards.
“There have been cases in the recent past where police have taken so long to act. There was that issue of some MMD youths who threatened to gang-rape Ms Edith Nawakwi and up to now police are procrastinating and we don’t even know at which stage that case is,” he observed.
“Then Mr William Banda threatened Fr Bwalya with violence and Fr Bwalya reported the matter to the police but they have not moved. Then there was that party cadre in Ndola who threatened him Fr Bwalya with worse violence than what occurred in Mufumbwe… You see this is the problem in the African setup, justice is not properly delivered. There are gaps.”
Mpombo said the double standards being exhibited by the police were a threat not only to the country’s peace but also democracy.
“This police’s action can destroy the tenets of good governance. That is why when we talk about freedom, we are not just talking about political emancipation but we are also talking about emancipation in terms of delivery of justice. That is the problem in Africa and that is why you see that when there is a new government in place, they spend so much time on vengeance, trying to sort out this one and that one,” he said.
Mpombo said politics of persecution were long gone and whoever thought he owned Zambia would have a rude shock because the country was for everyone.
Labels: DEFAMATION, FRANK BWALYA, RUPIAH BANDA
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MMD youths give Hichilema 48hrs to withdraw RB comment
By Abigail Chaponda in Ndola
Mon 26 Apr. 2010, 04:10 CAT
MMD youths in Ndola have given UNPD leader Hakainde Hichilema a 48-hour ultimatum to withdraw his statement that President Rupiah Banda is a man with a small brain, failure to which they will take the law in their own hands.
During a press briefing at the Ndola swimming pool on Saturday, district chairman Patrick Nyasulu said calling President Banda “a man with a small brain” was not a small issue and that no one would get away with insulting the President.
“From here, we will not leave an enemy behind. It is time to reposition ourselves. We will not allow evil practices in our country,” Nyasulu said.
“We know why people are insulting our President. It is because he is hard working. The mines have reopened, employment is growing, the national treasury is growing, hospitals have both staff and medicine, food is available and affordable and thieves are exposed. What more do you want? Just mention it, and RB will deliver.
“We are demanding an interpretation of a man with a small brain. Who is Hichilema to call our President a man with a small brain? To prove that we don’t believe in violence, we have given Hichilema 48 hours to withdraw his statement or else we will teach him a lesson of his life.”
Nyasulu said people who were insulting President Banda were provoking MMD youths, who should not be blamed when they react. He warned that whoever was belittling President Banda was going to answer to the youths because they were sick and tired of people picking on their beloved President.
Nyasulu called on the Inspector General of Police Francis Kabonde to do something over Hichilema’s statement and that if he (Kabonde) was not going to do anything, the youths would have no choice but to take the law into their own hands.
Reacting to President Banda’s statement that Hichilema was deceiving himself that he would be the presidential candidate for the PF-UPND Pact because Michael Sata was already the Pact leader, Hichilema said only a man with a small brain can say that.
He said that was because the issue of who leads the Pact does not bother the two parties involved. Hichilema said both PF and UPND have said many times that at an appropriate time, they would sit down to agree on the leader for the Pact in 2011 elections.
Hichilema said that was why he was convinced that only a man with a small brain would keep on raising the issue of who leads the PF-UPND Pact in next year’s election.
Labels: DEFAMATION, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, MMD YOUTH LEAGUE, PATRICK NYASULU, POLITICAL VIOLENCE
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Mpofu sues The Standard newspaper
By: TSM-TZG
Posted: Sunday, April 11, 2010 12:20 am
MINES and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu is suing The Standard newspaper for defamation over a story they published claiming that he was looting Marange diamonds to enrich himself. Mpofu says the source of his wealth is legitimate and he has not in any way abused his office to acquire it.
Recent newspaper and online publication reports queried the minister's financial dealings and the source of his riches after he reportedly bought properties in Victoria Falls.
Minister Mpofu said he could account for everything he owns.
He said he purchased the houses in question after securing a US$1 million loan from CBZ Bank while the other funds came from his safari business.
The Standard newspaper and other online publications, like SW Radio Africa claimed that the minister was looting diamonds at Chiadzwa.
The newspaper reported that an “alleged property-buying spree by Minister Mpofu had attracted the interest of a parliamentary committee investigating the plunder of the controversial Chiadzwa diamond fields”.
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The newspaper further reported that Mpofu had splashed thousands of dollars on high-value properties in Victoria Falls and Bulawayo.
“Information gleaned from various sources indicates that the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy is sweating to establish how the minister allegedly acquired at least 27 properties in Victoria Falls alone over the last few months,” read part of The Standard article.
Mpofu’s lawyer, Advocate Farai Mutamangira, however, refuted the report, saying his client was a “reputable business person presiding over profitable businesses dating back to the first decade of Zimbabwe’s independence”.
“Our client runs a successful tourism and safari business called Khanondo Safaris and Tours (Private) Limited, which holds hunting concessions and tour operations worth millions of United States dollars.
“Khanondo purchased five pieces of immovable property situated in Mkhosana, a high-density suburb in Victoria Falls.
“The purpose of the acquisition of the aforementioned immovable property is to provide housing for Khanondo’s employees. It is not unusual in Victoria Falls for safari operators to purchase immovable property for the purposes of providing housing for their employees,” said Advocate Mutamangira.
“He is also the majority shareholder in the company called Trebo and Khays (Private) Limited, which also owns York House in Bulawayo purchased several years ago from Old Mutual.
“In any event, Zimbabwe is predominantly a cash economy and there is nothing unusual about persons effecting payment through cash,” explained Mr Mutamangira.
Documents reveal that Minister Mpofu’s company, Trebo and Khays (Private) Limited, in October last year was granted a US$1 million loan by CBZ Bank Limited.
It is this loan that Minister Mpofu says he used to acquire houses for his employees in Mkhosana, Victoria Falls.
“I have not even exhausted the facility,” said Minister Mpofu.
“The purpose of the loan facility was to purely finance capital expenditure requirements.’’
In a letter to the minister advising him of his successful loan application, CBZ stated:
“Funds should be used strictly for the purpose of financing capital expenditure requirements and the bank reserves the right to call up the entire facilities where it is ascertained that the funds are not being used in line with the stated purpose.’’
Security for the loan was supported by a mortgage bond for US$1,3 million over Stand 12265A Bulawayo Township in the name of Trebo and Khays.
Minister Mpofu said: “It only takes a corrupt person to see that another person is corrupt.
“I have been in business for years and I am a very successful businessperson in my own right. What is unusual about me buying houses for my employees?
“Most companies in the safari business do that.
“I will not be moved by such allegations and I will ensure that The Standard retracts its allegations.”
Labels: COURTS, DEFAMATION, MARANGE DIAMOND FIELDS, OBERT MPOFU
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COMMENT - If this was happening in Zimbabwe, it would make international headlines. It is outrageous that someone could incur a criminal sentence for speaking their mind. Especially when it only concerns an elected official.
Ndola man gets 18 months for insulting Rupiah
By Abigail Chaponda in Ndola
Fri 19 Mar. 2010, 04:00 CAT
Darius Mukuka of Chifubu township was charged with defamation of the President, contrary to section 69 of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia
Ndola Chief Resident magistrate Kelvin Limbani on Wednesday sentenced a 35-year-old driver to 18 months in prison with hard labour for insulting and defaming President Rupiah Banda.
Darius Mukuka of Chifubu township was charged with defamation of the President, contrary to section 69 of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
Particulars of the offence were that Mukuka on March 22, 2009 in Ndola with intent to bring the name of the President into ridicule by word of mouth did say the words, “uyu Chikala, finshi alebepa abantu, nafilwa ukuteke ichalo” derogatory and insulting words meaning this…has failed to run the country.
Mukuka is said to have insulted President Banda whilst at Chifubu Recreation Club when President Banda appeared on Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) television news, receiving visitors from Australia
Passing sentence, Limbani said Mukuka's action deserved punishment so that he can reform and be deterred from committing similar offences and that others should learn from him.
“I should state that the Office of the President is the highest office in the land and deserves respect from each and every citizen. One cannot take pride by defaming the Head of State of this country despite the differences that he may have,” magistrate Limbani said.
He warned that insulting the President leads to anarchy as evidenced from the quarrels that arose at the Chifubu Recreation Club when Mukuka uttered the defamatory words.
He, however, said he had taken into account that Mukuka was a first offender who deserves leniency.
“The accused deserves to be punished so that he can reform and so that others can learn that insulting the President is an offence. I sentence you to 18 months imprisonment with hard labour. If you are not happy with my decision, you can appeal to the High Court within 14 days,” magistrate Limbani said.
He said citizens had a duty to respect and uphold the office of the President, instead of insulting and defaming it.
In mitigation, Mukuka said he is a father of four school-going children and that he was the breadwinner of the family.
And lawyer Bonaventure Mutale said Mukuka was sorry about what he said at the club but that the court should take into account the circumstances in which he uttered the defamatory words because he was imbibing alcohol.
Labels: COURTS, DEFAMATION, RUPIAH BANDA
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Chiluba is pushing his luck too far
By Editor
Mon 08 Feb. 2010, 04:01 CAT
Wynter Kabimba has challenged Frederick Chiluba to sue those calling him a thief and not just threatening legal action against those calling for the withdrawal of his retirement benefits.
It is not possible for Chiluba to sue those calling him a thief because he knows very well that he is a thief and the evidence of his thefts is in the public domain. No person can fail to defend himself or herself if he or she is taken to court by Chiluba for calling him a thief because the evidence is there in our courts of law. Even the recent case in which he was questionably acquitted by Jones Chinyama, the evidence in that case is enough for anyone to show that Chiluba is a thief. Chiluba and his friends also know that the decision by Chinyama to acquit Chiluba is defective, was obtained and sustained in ways that cannot be justified before any independent and impartial tribunal. This is why to date Rupiah Banda, Chiluba’s rescuer and protector, has refused to allow his acquittal to be appealed. It is no wonder Rupiah believes sending Chiluba back to court will be like throwing him back in a lion’s mouth where he had rescued him.
There is more than enough evidence in our magistrates’ courts and in the London High Court to show that Chiluba is a thief. Actually, if one carefully reads Chinyama’s judgment, one will see that even him had serious difficulties to acquit Chiluba because the evidence that was before him showed clearly that this little man was a thief. As for the London High Court both the evidence and the decision of the judge clearly and in no uncertain terms prove that Chiluba is a thief. One doesn’t need a lawyer to represent him to prove that Chiluba is a thief. All they need is simply the evidence. And it is there in abundance.
So Wynter should understand why Chiluba can’t sue anyone calling him a thief. But what we don’t understand is why Chiluba thinks he can sue somebody for calling for the withdrawal of his retirement benefits. Those doing so are within the law and there is nothing defamatory about it because they believe that Chiluba is violating a legal condition that requires him to disengage from active politics for him to continue enjoying such benefits.
What Wynter should also be asking himself is why Rupiah is so comfortable in the company of Chiluba when he knows very well that the man is a thief who has stolen from his employers – the Zambian people and their government? Well, even the worst criminal, the most dangerous one has friends. It is said that birds come to roost with those of their own kind; “Every creature prefers its own kind, and people are no different. Just as animals of the same species flock together, so people keep company with people like themselves” (Sirach 13 : 15 – 16).
For this reason, although Rupiah knows very well that his little friend is a thief, he has no problems going everywhere with him, visiting Luapula together, doing political deals with him because he believes it will benefit his chase for another term of office. And to Rupiah, it seems it doesn’t matter who aids his retention of power in 2011 – the end justifies the means.
But the Zambian people are not fools. Yes, they have been betrayed by their leaders before; they have been lied to and have been manipulated before. But still, they are not fools. It is said that you can fool some people sometimes, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. The days for Chiluba to deceive, manipulate and abuse the Zambian people are over. And those who think they can use Chiluba to again deceive, manipulate and abuse the Zambian people are deceiving themselves and will perish with him when his time for judgment comes. The judgment that was passed by Chinyama acquitting Chiluba is not the final one. With or without this appeal that they have criminally stopped to the benefit of their criminal friends and their own criminal schemes, the day of the final judgment on Chiluba’s thefts will come. And when it comes, Rupiah will also be made to account for his complicity in denying the Zambian people the justice they deserved from the thefts of this little criminal friend of his.
All those who have done or are doing everything possible to deny the Zambian people justice and favour Chiluba will be made to account and that day is near. They will have to live with the consequences of everything they are saying and doing today. We say this because “it is not right to favour the guilty and keep the innocent from receiving justice” (Proverbs 18: 5). Anyone who defends evil; anyone who thinks and speaks evil can expect to find nothing good – only disaster. Every lawless act leaves an incurable wound, like one left by a double-edged sword. This stubbornness of Chiluba and his friend Rupiah will get them into more serious trouble at the end. They are living dangerously. And stubborn people are always burdened down with troubles. There is no cure for the troubles that arrogant people have; wickedness has taken deep root in them.
If you do no wrong, no wrong will ever come to you. Do not plough the ground to plant seeds of injustice; you may reap a bigger harvest than you expect.
In their narrow mindedness; in their minds that are polluted with tribalism and nepotism, they think simply because Chiluba hails from Bemba-speaking Luapula then all the Bemba-speaking people, especially those from this region, will support him and those he supports. The people of Luapula know who Chiluba is: a shameless thief, liar. They also know that the money he stole was not shared with them. The people of Musangu village are as poor as any other group of Zambians whom Chiluba stole from and abused. But Rupiah can’t see this because to him tribe matters a lot and that’s why he could not even understand why the Bemba-speaking people of Northern Province were not appreciative of his help and support to Chiluba. For Rupiah everything starts and ends with one’s tribe. But Zambia has changed. Rupiah lives in a Zambia that doesn’t exist. Zambians today know that their problems are the same everywhere and that building a nation where only one group is benefiting, is doing well, will not do. If this country is to be good for anyone of us, it has to be good for all of us. This is a Zambia our people are seeking today – a more just, fair and humane nation.
This type of awareness may prove difficult to appreciate for Rupiah and his little thieving friend. Their eyes are blinded by greed, vanity, selfishness, pride and arrogance.
Selfishness or pride is the primary block to awareness in our lives. Love is the greatest virtue: love your neighbour as yourself. If one loves one’s neighbour as he or she loves oneself, one cannot steal from his people the way Chiluba did and one cannot defend one who has stolen from his people the way Rupiah is doing. We are all brothers and sisters. Christ is the vine and we are the branches of the same vine (John 15:5). Christ is the head and we are the members of that same body (Col. 1:18).
If love is the sum of all virtues, selfishness, pride and arrogance are the root of all evil, for they destroy love and true brotherhood. Adam sinned because he did not want to accept his creaturehood and submit himself to the laws of God. He would rather be equal to God. Original sin is nothing but pride, lack of humility and honesty. When Adam was asked why he disobeyed, he put the blame on Eve, putting her down in order to paint himself a good guy. When Eve was questioned, she put the blame on the serpent in order to paint herself free of guilt. Thus pride, lack of humility and honesty, failure to accept being wrong when one is wrong, or the desire to be better than others is at the root of the first, second and third sin in the Bible. Pride, in fact, is at the root of all sins.
No wonder that Christ would say that the condition to follow him is the denial of self: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Buddha would ask one to get rid of ‘desire’; while Gita would require one to cultivate ‘nishkama karma’; and St Ignatius would ask the retreatant to rid himself of all inordinate attachments.
It is important for Chiluba to value himself at his true worth. Admit when you are wrong, and you will avoid embarrassment.
There is no need for Chiluba going around threatening people, accusing them of this and that. Actually, when a wicked man curses his enemy, he is simply cursing himself. Curses cannot hurt you unless you deserve them. They are like birds that fly by night and never light (Proverbs 26:2).
And as for Rupiah, he should know that one “who makes friends with good for nothings is a disgrace…” (Proverbs 28:7).
Rupiah’s dependence on Chiluba for political survival will not do; “depending on an unreliable person in a crisis is like trying to chew with a loose tooth or walk with a crippled foot” (Proverbs 25: 19).
The best thing for Chiluba is to shut up. Every time he opens his small mouth, filth comes out of it to annoy and irritate the Zambian people. Chiluba is pushing his luck too far. What he is doing is actually to mobilise people and public opinion against himself and his friend Rupiah. They are going too far in their arrogance and insensitivity. A well-known thief, one who has stolen from the people cannot continue to behave in this manner with impunity. Soon the people’s patience will dry up on him. Chiluba is pushing his luck too far.
Labels: CHILUBA, DEFAMATION, WYNTER KABIMBA
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Kabimba challenges Chiluba to sue those calling him a thief
By Patson Chilemba
Mon 08 Feb. 2010, 04:01 CAT
LUSAKA lawyer Wynter Kabimba yesterday challenged former president Frederick Chiluba to sue those who call him a thief and not just concentrate on those who are calling for the stripping of his benefits.
And Kabimba has dared Chiluba to take legal action against him for calling for the withdrawal of the benefits he enjoys as former president, warning that Chiluba would regret his action.
Meanwhile, Ng’andu Magande said it will be too bad if Dr Kenneth Kaunda fails to speak about the stripping of his presidential benefits during the Chiluba administration.
Reacting to Chiluba’s threat to take legal action against his critics that are calling for the withdrawal of his benefits following his involvement in politics, Kabimba wondered what was more damaging to Chiluba between being called a thief and calls for his benefits to be withdrawn because he was back in active politics.
“In fact, the reason why the man has become jittery about this issue is because he knows that we are right, otherwise he would have ignored us. And secondly, what would be more damaging, to be called a thief and against being called ‘you are back in politics’?” Kabimba asked. “He has not sued in the past for being called thief, but he is very quick now to say ‘I am suing Magande and all those that are saying that I am back in politics’, because he wants to be eating both ways. So for us, we are not letting him go on this matter until he stops his activities.”
On the threats to sue him and others, Kabimba asked Chiluba and his spokesperson Emmanuel Mwamba to stop acting like they were qualified lawyers.
“The first piece of advice to them really is that if they want to become lawyers, the University of Zambia is open, they can go and study law, and then be able to render this nation legal advice or interpretation of the law. They cannot do that as laymen. The Article he is referring to Article 42 (3) and CAP 16 of the Laws of Zambia in the Constitution, which is talking about an intention to hold elective office, the decision of that intention is subjective on the part of a former president,” Kabimba said.
“And for us that are watching Chiluba go round the country, we can only deduce from his activities, especially following his third term bid which he lamentably failed that the man is back in active politics, and will soon be seeking an elective office in the MMD, because firstly if you remember, Mr Chiluba had resigned from MMD. He actually made a public pronouncement and said ‘I have resigned my membership of the MMD’.
“He then rendered support to the PF, and in fact he had joined PF. He later came round and said ‘levy has died’, which was again his statement. He must listen to what he says ‘I am now going back to MMD, the party which I founded’, when it is not even true. “MMD was founded by Aka and Derrick Chitala.”
Kabimba said Chiluba went back to the MMD and made a pronouncement that people should vote for President Rupiah Banda.
He said PF did not argue with that because it was his constitutional right to express a choice over the candidates.
“But contrast that with what he is doing now, going to a block of flats in Ndola, Itawa, addressing the residents there, promising them that when ‘I leave this place, I am going back to tell the President to sell you these flats’. And after he leaves that place, the Minister of Local Government is directed to inspect these flats. This is what a politician does, and hence our position that the man is back in active politics,” Kabimba said.
“That clearly he has an intention to seek elective office in the MMD. That is how we interpret his activities. That is subjective because it puts the onus on the person to make pronouncements that yes, I am seeking public office. For us who are looking at him, we can interpret his intentions from his activities.”
Kabimba said Chiluba’s activities were expressive of the intention on one’s part to seek elective office because he tried to go for a third term in the past.
He said he was more than experienced in matters of the courts, and could not be shaken by any action that Chiluba would take.
“He must also know that we know so much about him, so if he wants to take that risk, let him be my guest. Let him be my guest if he wants to take that risk. I am sure he will regret it at the end of the day. That is what I can tell him,” said Kabimba.
Former finance minister and currently the MMD’s Chilanga member of parliament Magande asked Dr Kaunda and come out and speak.
“If he doesn’t then it’s too bad. We cannot be fighting for people who are around and they are not speaking for their right; we are dealing with actual examples, we are not dealing with theory. That is why I think ask Dr Kaunda why he wasn’t paid his terminal benefits,” he said.
Magande said it was Chiluba’s prerogative to take legal action
“Now me I will just go and read the law. If he says that is what the law says, let him interpret it then we will go to the records of what happened in the past,” he said.
Magande said Chiluba has admitted that he was campaigning for President Banda by admitting that it was his constitutional right to support a candidate of his choice.
He said if Chiluba already knew that his friend, President Banda would be the MMD’s presidential candidate, then the MMD was wasting people’s time over the convention.
Chiluba on Saturday threatened to take legal action against his critics that are calling for the withdrawal of the benefits he enjoys as former president.
Those he threatened with legal action include Post Newspapers, senior chief Bright Nalubamba, chief Chona, Kabimba and Magande.
Labels: CHILUBA, DEFAMATION, WYNTER KABIMBA
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